Andy Murray
Murray suffers early exit in Spain. Reuters

Andy Murray has suffered a straight sets defeat to 46<sup>th ranked Santiago Giraldo in the third round of the Madrid Masters.

The Scot's preparations for Rolland Garros came to a premature end as he suffered a 6-3 6-2 loss in the Spanish capital after failing to match the in-form Colombian.

Murray returned to action having not played since Great Britain's Davis Cup defeat to Italy in April after missing the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open.

His lack of match progress was evident in the early stages of the contest as the world no. 8 laboured after losing his second service game.

Giraldo eased to a first set win as his opponent was unable to find a telling break and Murray immediately went another break down in the second, once again in his second service game.

Having won his first match on clay in a deserved second round victory over Nicolas Almagro on Wednesday evening, Murray showed little signs of rediscovering that assurance.

The 46<sup>th ranked Giraldo controlled the rest of the set with relative ease as Murray struggled to match his opponent's pace from the baseline. The Colombian consigned the Wimbledon champion to an early flight home as he grabbed a second break and served out with an emphatic ace to seal a spot in the final eight, where he awaits the challenge of Roberto Bautista Agut.

Rafael Nadal safely sealed his spot in the quarter finals after defeating Jarkko Nieminen 6-1 6-4. The defending champion will meet Tomas Berdych in his next match.

Andy Murray